NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 4

There was a lot less movement this week, although we did have one double digit move. Sorry, Pittsburgh, enough's enough. The NFC North made the biggest move of the week, not because they did anything really special, but because I didn't realize the Bengals were actually good when I dropped the Packers so far last week and because there are so, so many bad teams in this league that I had to reward the Lions. With no other introduction needed ...

1. New York Giants (last week: 1; change: 0): That was about as dominant as it gets. They play in too tough a division to feel too comfortable up here, though.
2. Indianapolis Colts (2; 0): Don't you get the feeling when watching Peyton Manning throw to Pierre Garcon that Marvin Harrison's entire career was completely overrated?
3. Baltimore Ravens (3; 0): The gauntlet begins. It doesn't get too much tougher than at New England, home against the suddenly potent Bengals and then at Minnesota three weeks in a row.
4. New Orleans Saints (4; 0): They face maybe the best defense in the league this week with the Jets. If they score at will on them, then the rest of the league will take notice.
5. New York Jets (5; 0): You think they have swagger now? Imagine if they beat the Saints in New Orleans.
6. Minnesota Vikings (8; +2): Brett Favre ... Touche.
7. New England Patriots (9; +2): Atlanta's a good team, so that was a good win. The Patriots need Wes Welker because Joey Galloway isn't working out.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (10; +2): How used does Jeff Garcia feel? They bring him in in case the Kolb experiment didn't work out. It did. Kudos to him for proving everyone wrong.
9. Denver Broncos (15; +6): Eh. They're probably too high. At some point, though, you have to reward wins. I still can't believe how well their defense is playing.
10. San Diego Chargers (12; +2): Philip Rivers is a step below Brees/Brady/Manning, but I do believe he is the top of the second tier of quarterbacks in this league.
11. Dallas Cowboys (13; +2): Conservative Tony Romo just can't last, can it? Either way, they have a heck of a ground game there.
12. Atlanta Falcons (6; -6): A little tough for dropping a hard fought game at New England, but there's a strong crop of 2-1 teams out there. They'll be in the battle for the postseason at the end.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (19; +6): Cedric Benson. What a story. This team wants to win, and it shows.
14. Chicago Bears (14; 0): None of their games seem convincing. I image they'll be hanging around the mid-teens for most of the year.
15. San Francisco 49ers (11; -4): There is absolutely no shame in how they lost that game. Vernon Davis is playing like never before.
16. Green Bay Packers (21; +5): No, they don't deserve to be up 5 for beating the Rams. In retrospect, they didn't deserve to drop double digits for losing to Cincinnati. This is a compromise.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (7; -10): They have issues. Fourth quarter collapses on defense. Lack of pressure on the quarterback. Patchy offensive line play. Questionable playcalling. That being said, they'll still make the playoffs.
18. Buffalo Bills (16; -2): You already know my thoughts on the T.O. situation. What's more interesting to me is how they incorporate Marshawn Lynch.
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (26; +7): It gets really, really muddled down here. This won't be the first leapfrog between the 19 and 26 spots.
20. Houston Texans (17; -3): Houston being mediocre is about as predictable as Oakland being bad.
21. Arizona Cardinals (18; -3): It's hard to consider a season when you get to the Super Bowl to be a fluke, but unless they put this bye week to good use, I think we can do just that.
22. Tennessee Titans (22; 0): They're not playing good defense, and they definitely don't have the offense to be compensate.
23. Seattle Seahawks (23; 0): Kudos to this team for playing hard with Seneca Wallace at quarterback. It just seems like this isn't Seattle's year for the second consecutive time.
24. Miami Dolphins (24; 0): Can we talk for one second about the fact the Ravens - because they were in second place in the North last year - play the combined 5-1 Patriots and Colts this year while the Steelers play the combined 0-6 Titans and Dolphins?
25. Carolina Panthers (25; 0): You know there are some bad teams in this league when the Panthers are 25th here.
26. Detroit Lions (32; +6): You knew and I knew they weren't the single worst team in the league, but I had to keep them there until they won. I think this is more like it.
27. Oakland Raiders (27; 0): I broke my own rule last week. I just realized that I dropped the Raiders 2 spots in my rankings when they beat the Chiefs. I notice nobody complained.
28. Washington Redskins (20; -8): Albert Haynesworth. Brian Orakpo. Clinton Portis. Santana Moss. Chris Cooley. LaRon Landry. These are good players. How are they so bad?
29. Kansas City Chiefs (28; -1): Their offense is bad, but their defense is worse. A lot worse.
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (29; -1): Have they not noticed that this whole rookie quarterback/rookie coach thing seems to be working? Why is Josh Freeman not playing?
31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): I'm telling you, they have a better chance to win with Kyle Boller playing than Mark Bulger.
32. Cleveland Browns (32; 0): They just make consistently bad decisions. Hmm, I kind of want to write a post about that now.

Division Rankings
1. NFC East (last week: 1): 12.00 average ranking amongst the four teams
2. AFC East (2): 13.50
3. NFC North (6): 15.50
4. AFC South (5): 15.75
5. AFC North (3): 16.25
6. NFC South (4): 17.75
7. AFC West (7): 18.75
8. NFC West (8): 22.50

Don't Get Too Excited About Week 3

Week 3 in the NFL was a sensational one ... that is already being way too sensationalized. Brett Favre is 28, not 38! The defending champs are no more! Tom Brady is great again! Drew Brees is a schlub, but Pierre Thomas will carry New Orleans all the way! (Okay, nobody's said that, but after what Brees didn't do for my fantasy team this week, I'm bitter.) Here's a few things to keep in mind when sifting through your NFL stories this week.

The NFC North looked strong at 4-0 this week ... But most divisions could do that with 3 games against the NFC West and 1 against the Redskins.

Titans and Dolphins apologists will tell you at 0-3, all is not yet lost. They're wrong. The Dolphins have to catch up to two AFC title contenders in their division and the Titans have to go 12-1 to catch up to the perennial 12-win Colts. Some food for thought for Tennessee fans: your schedule hasn't been that though. Neither the Steelers nor the Texans have a win outside of their game against you.

ESPN is going to try all week to convince you Terrell Owens is on the verge of a major breakdown in Buffalo. I don't like T.O. (pictured, right), but his press conference after the Bills' loss to the Saints made me angry, and not towards him. Terrible, terrible journalism. I've never heard so many loaded questions in my life.

Darrius Heyward-Bey is already being labeled as a colossal first round bust. For where he was taken in this year's NFL Draft, Heyward-Bey has been and will continue to be a bust. However, everyone knew that ahead of time, so is it fair? Did Heyward-Bey come out and say he was the best wide receiver in the draft? Or was he just a late first round prospect that the Raiders stupidly took at number 7? You already know this answer. Having the single worst starting quarterback in the NFL can't help his chances either.

Image source: http://media.photobucket.com/image/Terrell%20Owens%20Bills/Blainorama/terrell-owens2.jpg

Without Polamalu, Steelers defense disappears

The 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl for two reasons: clutch quarterback play and probably the best defense since the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. They scored just enough points and gave up very few. The defense created big plays all season long, sacked the quarterback, and was always reliable.

Through 3 games in 2009, it's a whole different story. The difference? Troy Polamalu. Since his injury against the Tennessee Titans in week one, the Steelers defense has been average. At best. They've created very little pressure on the quarterback and forced few turnovers (none, in fact, since the Titans game). The defense has given up long drives to lose games in consecutive weeks and has given me, as a Steelers fan, reason to worry late in the game. The result? A 1-2 record and third place in the division.

I know, I know, it's only 3 games and there's no reason to worry. Well, I think there is. James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley have been 100% invisible. Yes, they've been double-teamed, but that should free up others, and it hasn't. When they're not double-teamed, they haven't created pressure. The secondary has given up big plays in crucial situations and even other teams' runing games have had success. Right now, I don't trust the defense.

Which means the offense has to play nearly perfect. And they won't. They have an inconsistent running game. Ben Roethlisberger still makes mistakes. Limas Sweed dropped a touchdown pass that would have iced the game today. Mistakes happen, and the offense isn't built to score 25-30 points a week. The defense, statistically, hasn't played that poorly. The Titans only scored 10 points, the Bears 17, and the Bengals 17 (Bengals had a pick-6). The disturbing trend is that, in the fourth quarter, they fall apart. Carson Palmer and Jay Cutler have picked the apart late in games to lead their respective teams to victory.

The 2009 Steelers are looking a little too much like the 2006 Steelers for my liking. There are noticible differences - the offense isn't turning the ball over as much and Ben is playing well, Mike Tomlin still has the fire that Cowher lost, and the team didn't lose multiple contributers - but I'm still having flashbacks of losing games because the defense choked late in games and the offense could not punch the ball in.

Unfortuantely, it does not get much easier for the Steelers defense. They play the Chargers next week (luckily, at home, and on primetime, where they usually step up), who have an explosive offense. Last year, they shut down Sproles, but it's always a challenge. After that, they have the Lions and Browns, followed by the Vikings, who look to be a very good team this year. If they can go into the bye week with a 4-3 record, they will be in decent shape. They just need to keep up with the Ravens (and Bengals) so that they have a chance for the division. Polamalu is set to try to come back against the Lions in week five, but that may be only in limited action. Either way, it will be a boost.

But until then, the Steelers need to find a way to play better on both sides of the ball. The defense needs to make more turnovers and get more sacks. The talent is there outside of Polamalu (I'm looking at you, James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley). I'm sure Tomlin and Dick Labeau will be working hard this week to fix it, but, regardless, they need to put the loss behind them and focus on going back to the 2008 version of the Steel Curtain. Until then, the team will continue to play like a mediocre team.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 3

Wow. After week 2 knocked gave 4 of the top 6 teams in the rankings losses, week 3 is looking quite different. A lot of teams fell what may seem a disproportionate amount based on their week 1 performances (but won anyway), and a lot of teams rose based on the fact I'm a lot more sold on them 2 weeks in than 1. So, without further ado ...

1. New York Giants (last week: 3; change: +2): To beat two divisional rivals in the first two weeks is huge. Eli Manning has finally proven to the doubters he's an upper echelon quarterback.

2. Indianapolis Colts (4; +2): The run defense looks horrid, but they're 2-0. They're one of the few teams in the league you're never going to want to bet against.

3. Baltimore Ravens (7; +4): ESPN and Peter King's number one team, the Ravens scored a huge win cross country in San Diego. They need to improve their pass defense, though.

4. New Orleans Saints (13; +9): The way they manhandled a stout Philadelphia defense was certainly eye-opening. What happens on defense when they're not facing Jake Delhomme or Kevin Kolb?

5. New York Jets (14; +9): They talked the talk, and then walked the walk. Mark Sanchez is going to be a great player in this league.

6. Atlanta Falcons (10; +4): In the same boat as the Saints. We know what they have offensively. Their defense has yet to be tested (until this week at New England).

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (1; -6): They need to be better offensively in just about every way. Don't sleep on the Steelers-Bengals game this weekend.

8. Minnesota Vikings (12; +4): Perhaps they're better than this, but their first two opponents (the Browns and the Lions) will have a combined total of 4 wins this year, so I can't take them seriously yet.

9. New England Patriots (2; -7): We knew they didn't have any leadership on defense. It's truly stunning how different of a quarterback Tom Brady is this year.

10. Philadelphia Eagles (5; -5): They reside here for a little bit. Once McNabb comes back, they will climb back up the rankings.

11. San Francisco 49ers (17; +6): Well, they certainly got Frank Gore going, and he showed why, when healthy, he's a top 5 running back in this league. I still can't believe Shaun Hill is quarterbacking a 2-0 team.

12. San Diego Chargers (6; -6): Philip Rivers can definitely throw the ball. It's too bad their linebackers can't tackle anybody and their coach can't coach anybody.

13. Dallas Cowboys (8; -5): I hate to pile on, but has Tony Romo ever won a game of any significance? Their running game looked great, though.

14. Chicago Bears (16; +2): Hmm. As you see, I don't know what to do with the Bears. They could just as easily be 2-0 as 0-2. Matt Forte's been awfully quiet this year.

15. Denver Broncos (23; +8): I know, I know. They played the Bengals and the Browns. That being said, the defense is playing hard and fast, and Kyle Orton has a sort of moxie about him, no?

16. Buffalo Bills (24; +8): They're a Leodis McKelvin fumble away from 2-0. Trent Edwards can sling the ball around, but most impressive is the way Fred Jackson's been running.

17. Houston Texans (26; +9): So there's the offense we remember from last year. They're going to hang around this spot all year because we also saw the defense from last year again.

18. Arizona Cardinals (18; 0): What can be said about Kurt Warner that hasn't already been said? How is 24 for 26 even possible?

19. Cincinnati Bengals (27; +8): They're one of the flukiest plays ever away from being 2-0 themselves. That was an impressive win at Green Bay. If they can beat Pittsburgh this week, look for them to soar up these rankings.

20. Washington Redskins (20; 0): They may have one of the worst offenses I have ever seen in my entire life. It's a good thing their defense will keep them in a lot of games.

21. Green Bay Packers (11; -10): The rare double digit move. You can't consider yourself to be a top half team in this league with losses like that. The offensive line is horrid.

22. Tennesee Titans (9; -13): I will probably never have a team move 13 spots one way or the other ever again. I just thought they could pull it together to win at Houston, and I recognize that Houston has a good offense. I was still stunned to see all the missed assignments.

23. Seattle Seahawks (15; -8): I really shouldn't have had them as high as 15 after week 1 anyway. Losing Matt Hasselbeck really hurts (wow, shocker of the week).

24. Miami Dolphins (22; -2): It looked like they didn't show up for week 1 because they were too busy getting prepared for week 2. And they still lost. What does that say?

25. Carolina Panthers (21; -4): Good to see Jake Delhomme have a "normal" game again. Now we're just faced with the conclusion that he's not that good.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (19; -7): Not that I was 100% sure the Jags were going to win, but they really got tossed around by the Cardinals. It's only week 3, but they need to turn things around in a hurry.

27. Oakland Raiders (25; -2): Heading into the last drive of the game, JaMarcus Russell had 3 completions. That's an astonishing statistic.

28. Kansas City Chiefs (29; +1): They've been in two games in a row, but haven't figured out how to win yet. I like some of the players on this team, especially Dwayne Bowe.

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28; -1): Similarly to how Shaun Hill keeps winning and you don't know why, Byron Leftwich just keeps losing and you're not sure why. Of course, he really doesn't have much around him.

30. Cleveland Browns (30; 0): They're certainly bad enough to be the worst team in the league.

31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): At least they were competitive this week.

32. Detroit Lions (32; 0): I'm not sure I would bet against the Lions this week. I'm being serious, too.

Division Rankings! (Sorry, I forgot these last week.)

1. NFC East (average rank: 11.0): As usual, they sit perched atop the division rankings. Having 3 upper echelon teams helps.

2. AFC East (13.5): The Pats and Dolphins fall a bit, but the ascent of the Bills and Jets more than makes up for it.

3. AFC North (14.75): They probably won't get too much above this no matter what because the only place the Browns are destined to go is down.

4. NFC South (16.0): Two real good teams, two real bad teams. We'll see if the Panthers can turn things around, because the Bucs probably won't.

5. AFC South (16.75): Definitely the division with the most potential for upward movement.

6. NFC North (18.75): My brutal ranking of the Pack contributed to this. They definitely have a lot more room to go up than down, too.

7. AFC West (20.5): And here come the western divisions. The AFC (buoyed by Denver's rise) gets the slight nod this week.

8. NFC West (20.75): I do think they're a better division than the AFC West, but the numbers don't lie.

Quick Correction

On Wednesday's show, I said Keyshawn Johnson made his inflammatory remark toward Raven wide receivers during ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown." I was wrong, it was during a conference call on ESPN earlier that day. My bad.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 2

Sorry about the little delay here. If you were looking for the AL Division races post, it came up on blogger before the power rankings post, so check it out here. Sorry about the font issues with that one, by the way. But anyway, here are week 2 power rankings. You will notice one thing immediately: I, 100%, will not drop a team if they won their game. That means the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens and Chargers, among others, can breathe a little easier after some obvious flaws were shown in week 1. The mark of a good team is 1) to be able to win games despite your flaws, and 2) to be able to learn from your mistakes and correct them for the next week. So, if the problems persist and any of those teams fall because of them, we could see significant droppage. With that made-up word, I give you week 2.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (last week: 1; change: 0): With Santonio Holmes emerging as a star in this league, Pittsburgh will be able to get away with throwing the ball more. It's not going to do anything for Big Ben's health, though.

2. New England Patriots (2; 0): Their defense, as we thought, isn't too much. That being said, the offense is only beginning to click. By the end of the year, they'll be consistently putting up 30+ again.

3. New York Giants (3; 0): If Ahmad Bradshaw can continue being effective (he put up pretty good numbers against what will be a very good Redskins rush D), the Giants shouldn't even notice Derrick Ward is gone.

4. Indianapolis Colts (4; 0): Sure, the win against Jacksonville wasn't the prettiest of things, but the Colts were slow out of the gates last year, too. They have Peyton Manning.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (5; 0): It's a shame McNabb got hurt. I don't care what the experts are saying, it's competitive instinct to go diving into the end zone there.

6. San Diego Chargers (6; 0): Analyzing LaDainian Tomlinson's ability/role in San Diego's offense is befuddling. It doesn't do him any favors that Darren Sproles is a heck of a football player.

7. Baltimore Ravens (7; 0): Which team are they? The team that's top 3 in the league in both offense and defense? Or the team that was tied with a 2-14 team at home with 3:00 left in the game? You'll find out in San Diego this week.

8. Dallas Cowboys (9; +1): Tony Romo appears happy and comfortable. It will be interesting to see if Patrick Crayton can continue to shine behind Roy Williams.

9. Tennesee Titans (8; -1): They played tough and almost won a game they weren't supposed to win. The Kerry Collins jokes need to stop. He's effective enough to be a top-half QB in this league.

10. Atlanta Falcons (10; 0): If they can get that kind of performance from their defense consistently, Atlanta will be in the NFC title race. I just don't think they can.

11. Green Bay Packers (11; 0): The Bears put up some points, but I still liked what I saw in the Packers defense. Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings is a beautiful thing.

12. Minnesota Vikings (16; +4): Okay, my bad. I got too focused on you-know-who. I apologize to Adrian Peterson for not respecting his preposterous abilities.

13. New Orleans Saints (17; +4): He scores 6 TD's and Drew Brees gets up to the podium and starts talking about all of their missed opportunities. This Philly game could get real interesting.

14. New York Jets (21; +7): Tied with the team below them for my biggest jump of the week. Rex Ryan is going to take this rookie coach with rookie qb thing and run like the wind with it.

15. Seattle Seahawks (22; +7): 28-0 is 28-0 no matter who you play against. Matt Hasselbeck is confirming what a few people forgot; when he has some weapons around him, he's a darn good quarterback.

16. Chicago Bears (12; -4): To still be in that Packer game considering everything in that game is remarkable. They have a real opportunity against Pittsburgh with Polamalu out.

17. San Francisco 49ers (23; +6): There aren't many teams in the NFL who are doing more with less than the 49ers. Mike Singletary gets his guys to play as hard as anyone.

18. Arizona Cardinals (13; -5): Oh, dear. Warner started to look old and their play was generally uninspired. With Seattle and San Francisco stepping up, Arizona will have to do the same if they want back in the playoffs.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars (18; -1): Nothing wrong with losing a close game to the Colts. It's games like those, though, that the Jags just never seem to be able to pull out.

20. Washington Redskins (19; -1): If the Redskins were down 4 to the Eagles with 3:00 left and the ball, would you feel confident Jason Campbell could lead them down the field? Me neither.

21. Carolina Panthers (14; -7): Ouch. If Delhomme struggles mightily again this week, we can officially start to say that one game has ruined the career of an otherwise good NFL quarterback. Not much reason for optimism around Carolina.

22. Miami Dolphins (15; -7): They probably don't deserve this drop, but I was discouraged by their game against Atlanta. Turner was ineffective, Elam missed two fgs, but the Dolphins still couldn't make things real interesting. Not good.

23. Denver Broncos (26; +3): Who wouldn't rather be lucky than good? Cincinnati's offense should be okay this year, so that was a real good sign for Denver's defense.

24. Buffalo Bills (25; +1): Oh, Buffalo. You really do find ways to lose games like none other. Well, not quite as bad as Cincinnati but still. Fred Jackson, by the way, looks terrific.

25. Oakland Raiders (27; +2): I don't believe I'm exaggerating for a moment when I say the Raiders 1) have one of the three worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL, and 2) would compete with the Chargers to make the playoffs if they had even an average quarterback.

26. Houston Texans (20; -6): There is absolutely no excuse for this team not to score 20+ every single week. Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe week 1.

27. Cincinnati Bengals (24; -3): Words can't begin to cover what Bengals fans must have felt Sunday night. A bigger issue: How did their finally healthy offense only put up 7 on the Broncos?

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28; 0): A surprisingly game Bucs team did what they could against Dallas. They just ... can't do much.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (29; 0): The Chiefs took advantage of every opportunity they were given on Sunday. They will have to continue to do so to scratch out a few wins this year.

30. Cleveland Browns (30; 0): Half of me wants to scold the Browns for not being able to tackle. The other half of me wants to thank the Browns for all the good times I've had at their expense.

31. St. Louis Rams (31; 0): Simply put, they're the worst team in the league. I want to put them at 32 but ...

32. Detroit Lions (32; 0): Then I look at the stat of the week.

NFL Power Rankings 2009: Week 1

Oh, it's that time again. POWER RANKINGS. Yes, in caps. There's a few surprised thrown in the bag here, especially when you look down at division rankings. Comments, both good and bad, are of course appreciated.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: They return basically the same team that won the Super Bowl ... and might be better. With their schedule, they have the best chance in the league to go 16-0 (but still unlikely).

2. New England Patriots: They have a few questions on the defensive side of the ball after this week, but any Tom Brady-led team will usually be in the top 3.

3. New York Giants: Don't forget how good of a season they had last year. They could have the best defense in the NFC.

4. Indianapolis Colts: Donald Brown should get the running game going again, and they should put up more points because of it.

5. Philadelphia Eagles: They could be in the running with the Patriots and Saints for the best offense in the league. A historically stout defense could be a weakness this year, though.

6. San Diego Chargers: Enough talent to be in the top 3. Will it all actually come together this year?

7. Baltimore Ravens: They don't need a huge year out of Mark Clayton/Demetrius Williams/Kelley Washington. They just need them to stretch the field.

8. Tennesee Titans: It will be hard to duplicate their success from last year with a quarterback who's only gotten older and minus their best defensive player.

9. Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo needs the playoffs this year to be taken seriously as a top-flight NFL quarterback.

10. Atlanta Falcons: Plenty to love about their offense, but their lack of defensive leadership (losing Keith Brooking and Lawyer Milloy) is troublesome.

11. Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers may have the best fantasy year of any quarterback in the league. Will the transition to 3-4 on defense work?

12. Chicago Bears: Gave up a ton, but are counting on Cutler to pay huge dividends this year. To go all the way, though, they will need a better defensive performance than last year.

13. Arizona Cardinals: I had them as the 12th best team out of 12 heading into the postseason last year. I guess I don't learn from my mistakes.

14. Carolina Panthers: Seemingly way too low for a team with a first round playoff bye last year. The NFC South is too tumultuous to think they will duplicate that success.

15. Miami Dolphins: If the Dolphins are successful this year, it will be because Pat White has revolutionized the already revolutionary Wildcat.

16. Minnesota Vikings: I don't believe in Brett Favre. At all. At least Tavaris Jackson could scramble.

17. New Orleans Saints: My pick to win the NFC South at the end of the year. There's a lot to like about their defensive improvements.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars: A common sleeper pick for the postseason this year. David Garrard is a better quarterback than he is given credit for being.

19. Washington Redskins: Optimism abounds in D.C. - again. I think nothing about their offense, but I think Brian Orakpo will be the defensive rookie of the year.

20. Houston Texans: Will this be the year? They have a young, talented front seven on defense, but the secondary could be a liability.

21. New York Jets: Rex Ryan runs a high risk, high reward defense. It works when you have two future hall of famers playing up the middle. Memo: Jenkins/Scott/Rhodes does not equal Ngata/Lewis/Reed.

22. Seattle Seahawks: I think the world of Matt Hasselbeck, and I love the Houshmandzadeh signing. The offensive line is beyond bad, though.

23. San Francisco 49ers: Talent abounds in every position except for quarterback ... the most important position.

24. Cincinnati Bengals: If Palmer is healthy, Cincy could make some noise this year. They need him upright, though, because they won't be able to run the ball.

25. Buffalo Bills: Questions abound. TO's health? New offensive coordinator? How will the holdout affect Maybin? Are they moving to Toronto?

26. Denver Broncos: Their defense didn't get much upgrading, and they downgraded significantly at quarterback.

27. Oakland Raiders: Essentially wasted 2009 and 2011 first round choices on a second round talent and a guy they should have traded a third rounder for. Thanks Oakland.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: They may be able to run the ball between Cadillac, Graham and Ward ... but that's about it.

29. Kansas City Chiefs: With Cassel in, they could win a few games. Without Cassel, they may be number 32.

30. Cleveland Browns: No running game. No quarterback. Scant receivers. No defensive line. No secondary. At least they have Joshua Cribbs.

31. St. Louis Rams: The Rams - with Sam Bradford - will be a team to watch ... next year.

32. Detroit Lions: They just didn't do much to a defense that gave up 30+ points 11 times last year.

And, of course, the division rankings ...

1. NFC East: 9.00

2. AFC South: 12.50

3. AFC North: 15.50

4. AFC East: 15.75

5. NFC South: 17.25

6. NFC North: 17.75

7. AFC West: 22.25

8. NFC West: 22.50

Post Schedule

I'm changing things up a bit this week. I was planning on doing the rest of my baseball post today, but I like my AL part too much and am dividing the one post into a separate one for each league.

So, because I obviously need to get power rankings in before the Steelers-Titans game Thursday, the schedule is as follows:

Wednesday - Power Rankings

Thursday - AL home stretch preview

Friday - NL home stretch preview

Wild Wild West - AL Edition

I talked earlier in the week about how listless the playoff races have been in baseball so far; four spots are all but clinched by the Yankees, Tigers, Phillies, and Cardinals.

That, of course, leaves two spots in each league. Here's a look at the American League.

American League

Team 1: Boston Red Sox

- Initial reaction: When Boston's playoff chances aren't 100% by this time, you have to be a little surprised. It's not exactly like they're slumping either, as they're on pace for a win total in the mid-90's. There are a lot of good teams in the American League this year.

- Why they are they here: Injuries have really hurt a pitching staff that's usually top 5 in pitching. This year, they're only 6th in the AL in ERA, 6th in BAA, and 7th in WHIP. That's average, not excellent. Their hitting has made up for it, though, landing in the top 3 in the league in most major categories.

- Will they make it? Yes. They have some tough series remaining - a Tampa team that's more than desperate to make this list, the always-strong Angels and a trip up to New York - but make up for it with enough cupcakes to finish in a wild card position.

Team 2: Texas Rangers

- Initial reaction: Texas has always been a team you want to play with when you're playing XBox. After all, winning 10-8 is always so much more fun than 4-2. Sadly, that's not practical in today's game. However, this year the Rangers appear to have the pitching to match their always potent hitting.

- Why they are here: A terrific lineup, top to bottom - their BA, HR, OPS and RBI leaders are four different guys, none named Josh Hamilton (pictured, right) - is joined by a staff ranking 4th in the AL in wins.

- Will that make it? Yes. They have six home games against the out-of-it Mariners and A's. Then they have a home series against the Angels, before going on the road against basically the same set of teams.

Team 3: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

- Initial reaction: Similar to the Red Sox, a team you would expect to basically be locked up by now. The Angles sport a good team every year, with good pitching, great base running, great fielding and timely hitting. This year is the same.

- Why they are here: See above. Great hitting, great base running, except this year without the fielding and the pitching - to the tune of 12th in the AL in BAA and 12th in errors.

- Will they make it: No. Yeah, I said it. 22 games left and 5.5 games in the lead, but I don't see this team in the playoffs. They're getting hot at the right time, but their schedule (at NY, at Boston) should cool them off. Not to mention, they still have seven games left against the Rangers, who they are 3-9 against.

Image Source: http://betweenthepoles.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/josh-hamilton.jpg

The Insanity of College Football

Every Saturday, the college football landscape changes dramatically and, at times, unexpectedly. This past Saturday - the first one of the season - saw National Championship contender Oklahoma essentially end its season before it even got off the ground.

The severity of Sam Bradford's shoulder injury will likely decide whether OU will be able to rebound and contend for a Big-12 championship or have to pack it in and look toward 2010. They now have one loss, and with the way the season has started, that may be all it takes for a team like OU to be knocked out of the National Championship picture.

Boise State beat 16th-ranked Oregon Thursday night, which paves the way for the Broncos to potentially go undefeated and demand a chance at being the best team in the country. They went into the weekend ranked 14th, and now may be in the top 10. If they go undefeated, OU will have to a tough time claiming they deserve to be in the final game - if they can even stay a one-loss team (and that will not be easy, even with Bradford).

Next, 20th ranked BYU just beat Oklahoma, which would likely give them the edge in any scenario where it would be down to those two teams. BYU's schedule is much more difficult that Boise State's (they play Florida State, TCU, and Utah), but if BYU were to go undefeated, they would be ahead of Oklahoma.

Then you look at the rest of the top teams - Alabama, Florida, Texas, Ohio State, USC, etc - and it's possible that all of those teams finish with no more than one loss. In fact, I think Florida will go undefeated and one of USC, Ohio State, or Texas will join them. I haven't even added in potential sleeper teams like Ole Miss, O.K. State, Penn State, LSU, or Cal. A one-loss OU team will have a tough time sticking around the top 5.

Again, this assumes OU can even stay in the picture and remain at just one loss.

And I'm going to take them out of the picture. They're now a one-loss team and I have a hard time believing that they will have a shot at the title, for the reasons stated above. There are too many good teams who will be at either one-loss or undefeated for OU to leapfrog them, especially if Bradford misses significant time, which I think he will.

But you know what the best part about all this is? I have absolutely no idea what will happen. This weekend proved what a crazy sport college football is. We had Navy being 2 yards away from overtime against Ohio State (in Columbus!). Northern Iowa, an FCS team, had two chances to kick a game-winning field goal vs. Iowa, but Iowa blocked the kick - TWICE! Matt Barkley looked impressive as USC's starter (even though it was against San Jose St.) and he may prove to be the best USC QB in a long time (yes, better than Palmer, Leinart, Sanchez, etc). College football is so unpredictable and each week produces a huge shift in the top of the polls.

I'm excited to see what will happen next and I'm excited to see what changes next weekend will bring. For all I know, Tim Tebow could tear an ACL or Matt Barkley could lead the Trojans into Columbus and tear up Ohio State. Any predictions people make about the season can go out the window in seconds. One of the two teams in most expert's National Championship game already has one loss and may have lost their quarterback for the season. What else can happen? I don't know, you don't know, no one knows. And I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

(Photo: TSN.ca/Getty images)

Most MLB Division Races Long Over

Saturday night gave me far too big of a headache to write about college football, so here's your "baseball still matters" post of the month. I recognize that this week is the commencement of the NFL season, and my wonderful power rankings will debut sometime before the Titans-Steelers game on Thursday night. That being said, any other thing I could write about the NFL will undoubtedly be covered during the first TNT broadcast of the semester on Wednesday. So, for now, baseball.

Except there's really not a lot to talk about.

The Yankees' huge signings in the offseason? They worked out. CC Sabathia? He may be the favorite for the AL Cy Young. AJ Burnett? (pictured right) Not brilliant, but 4.29 and 10-8 ain't exactly bad. Mark Teixeira? He could hit 40 home runs this year. Remember way back when when everyone was up in a tizzy because the Orioles took 2 of 3 from them to lead off the season? That was a long time ago.

The Tigers are starting to play exactly like everyone thought the Tigers would play last year. They've won six in a row and eight of their last ten. The Twins are slightly above average and won't play any better than slightly above average. They're out of it.

The Phillies won the World Series last year because of their great lineup, top to bottom. They still have a great lineup, except now they have an even better rotation. Cliff Lee is the umpteenth pitcher to make NL hitters look like AAA hitters compared to AL hitters (although he has fallen off in his past two starts).

The Cardinals? Only 11.5 games ahead in the central. Not bad. Fun fact: They have 39 road wins this season. The Pirates have less than half of that, at 18.

So that leads us to the Wild Cards and the West. You've lost your attention by now, so look for it tomorrow.

Image Source: http://blog.nj.com/yankees_main/2009/03/large_aj-burnett303.jpg